The All Progressives Congress senators in the National Assembly on Sunday flayed the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission to postpone the February 14 and 28 elections.
A statement by the group’s spokesperson, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, described the development as a “teleguided plot” by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to derail democracy.
Ojudu said, “What we are seeing is a desperate and jittery response to the imminent defeat of the PDP. The postponement has shown the helplessness of INEC in the face of a malicious cabal bent on destroying the fabric of democracy”.
The APC senators argued that the decision had raised a big credibility question on INEC and the forthcoming elections.
He said, “This decision is borne out of fear of defeat and malice against the people of Nigeria in the face of the overwhelming support the APC command across the country”.
He added that the PDP leadership in partnership with INEC had put Nigeria in “extremely bad light” among the comity of nations.
The senator added that the postponement “is a diversionary tactics which undermines the aspirations of Nigerians and dims the hope for change in a country that in the past has seen bitter upheavals due to similar partisan posture of the election umpire”.
The senators further alleged that the INEC had placed itself above the interest of the people, adding that the action of the electoral body, ran contrary to the decision of the Council of State.
He said, “The action of the PDP will have serious negative impact on the economy. It will spur public distrust, dampen people’s morale and deplete the resources of stakeholders in the electoral process.
“This action has brought the integrity of Nigeria into an all-time low. It has deepened the political crisis engineered in the first place by the PDP”.
He said the INEC and the PDP leadership did not consult the opposition, a major stakeholder in the political process, describing the action as a unilateral decision of INEC.